New Vintage Speedster - Interesting note about engine.

Probably George...

Ii saw that car yesterday. Great color combo.

About the ad comment though, does it make sense? Has anyone driven the new engine?

"This 1600 Flat Air Cooled 4 Cylinder Motor is a new builder for Vintage...More Power...Better Idle...Runs Smoother...Feels Stronger than the 1915cc..."

edsnova posted:

Probably George...

Help the uneducated - what does that mean?  I am getting ready to order a new vintage to replace one I sold - I plan on a suby swap in about a year.  Not sure I want to pony up for a 1914 that performs as well as the 1600 (which I have a hard time understanding)

Whether it's George or not, pretty creative advertising copy. All things being equal, the statement  "there ain't no replacement for displacement" holds true. If they'd really wanted to emulate a Carrera they could have dropped the body trim under the doors and used the Carrera flat aluminum bumper trim instead of the regular rubber backed stuff (but that would mean spending more money). Nice looking car, though; I like the look of a Speedster without the side trim. Too bad it's got all those holes for the badging. I kind of like the minimalist look better. Al

Very pretty car.  Would look even better with the caps off to show those wide 5's.

ALB posted:

 Too bad it's got all those holes for the badging. I kind of like the minimalist look better. Al

If you look further down it has the badges installed - my understanding is they have them shipped from Vintage without the badges installed so they can do a wetsand and buff out - they then install the badges - pretty sure I read that somewhere on here.

What is that thing on firewall? - fuel pressure regulator or strange oil breather. Seems it's a Holley 12-804 fuel pressure regulator.

Scott if you plan on changing to a subie, you might want to upgrade the tranny to handle the extra power. Just saying

Scott R. Merritt Island Fl posted:

ALB posted:

 Too bad it's got all those holes for the badging. I kind of like the minimalist look better. Al

If you look further down it has the badges installed - my understanding is they have them shipped from Vintage without the badges installed so they can do a wetsand and buff out - they then install the badges - pretty sure I read that somewhere on here.

Yeah, I saw that. I think the car looks better without, but it has all those holes in it now...

Scott R. Merritt Island Fl posted:

edsnova posted:

Probably George...

Help the uneducated - what does that mean?  I am getting ready to order a new vintage to replace one I sold - I plan on a suby swap in about a year.  Not sure I want to pony up for a 1914 that performs as well as the 1600 (which I have a hard time understanding)

 

George was a guy from Texas, I believe, who used to post about his incredible mechanical skills. He would boast about how his small displacement engines could out-perform even the best built 2 litre monsters.   Someone bought his car and found out the emperor had no clothes.

I think a stock displacement engine could be built to run smooth and rev fast BUT displacement rules.  Everything balanced, CW crank, light flywheel, good heads, good exhaust - still hard to get to mild 1915 hp, I'd think.

WOLFGANG posted:

I think a stock displacement engine could be built to run smooth and rev fast BUT displacement rules.  Everything balanced, CW crank, light flywheel, good heads, good exhaust - still hard to get to mild 1915 hp, I'd think.

I think the phrase goes something like "There is no replacement for displacement".

Yeah, you can make a smaller engine make the same horsepower as a larger engine (as George claimed about his 1776's, and he's right, you can), but a smaller engine has to rev higher to do this. The problems- an engine that goes to 7,000 or 7500 (or 8,000) rpm with power requires more maintenance (it just plain wears parts out faster) and moving the powerband that far up takes it away from where you'll spend most of the time on the street- the low end and lower midrange.

A bigger engine that makes the same (or even a little less) power but peaks at only 6,000 rpm will require only regular maintenance and have way more bottom end/midrange (which is what you use for driving 95% or more of the time) which will make it way more fun to drive (and generally get better mileage). A smaller high strung engine will still be fun; I'm just saying that more cc's makes it more fun. Al

get the 1915, if u cheap out U will regret it on the fwy and hills..

And as I've said before, not all engines of the same size are the same.  VS specifies a 1915 that is a low-stressed engine with moderate power (maybe 90-ish), while CB Performance's 1915 is more highly tuned and powerful (rated at 120).  You get what you pay for.

How much extra $ for a 2110cc CB engine?  I drove a 1915cc up hills and the 2110cc is way more pleasant.

I believe that they have prices for the more commonly spec'd engines on their website.  Look for "Turn-key Engines".

IaM-Ray posted:

Scott if you plan on changing to a subie, you might want to upgrade the tranny to handle the extra power. Just saying

Will be going with a 5 speed subarugears converted tranny.

From vintage motorcars speedster build options site - 

• 1600cc Engine with Single Carb standard
• 1915cc  Engine with Dual Carbs [add $1000
• 120 hp Engine with Dual Carbs [add $2500

http://vintage-motorcar.com/showroom/

TRP posted:

WOLFGANG posted:

I think a stock displacement engine could be built to run smooth and rev fast BUT displacement rules.  Everything balanced, CW crank, light flywheel, good heads, good exhaust - still hard to get to mild 1915 hp, I'd think.

I think the phrase goes something like "There is no replacement for displacement".

Didn't see Al's comment above! Sorry, Al!

TRP posted:

TRP posted:

WOLFGANG posted:

I think a stock displacement engine could be built to run smooth and rev fast BUT displacement rules.  Everything balanced, CW crank, light flywheel, good heads, good exhaust - still hard to get to mild 1915 hp, I'd think.

I think the phrase goes something like "There is no replacement for displacement".

Didn't see Al's comment above! Sorry, Al!

I'll forgive you this time, Ted. Don't let it happen again.

Any finish date from Gary? Before Christmas, maybe?

ALB posted:

Any finish date from Gary? Before Christmas, maybe?

Oh... My guess is February or March? No rush.  Naturally I hope it's sooner, but it'll be done when it's done.   I think of it being on a lay-a-way plan. Paying all that money over a year and a few months makes it less of an issue. 

Check with him so you're up to date on his schedule; you don't want to thrown by the wayside because he has customers that nag at him regularly.

PS- Don't let him think there's no rush, as that's when things don't happen...

Good call.

Scott R. Merritt Island Fl posted:

IaM-Ray posted:

Scott if you plan on changing to a subie, you might want to upgrade the tranny to handle the extra power. Just saying

Will be going with a 5 speed subarugears converted tranny.

The perfect match for a Subie engine, but boy, is it pricey.